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Gordon Holmes: You forgot to choke out David at Tribal! Chris Hammons: (Laughs) They edited it out. It really happened.

Holmes: It’s easy to say, “I’m going to lie to everybody.” It’s different to say, “I’m going to lie to this person I have a relationship with.” What was your takeaway from Zeke’s betrayal? Hammons: I can’t say that it didn’t hurt. Zeke and I really made friends. Zeke is my friend, still. But it was hard. That was a really tough blow to take. I didn’t think Zeke would go after me at that point. It honestly really gets you. When I was walking down that ramp, I was doing the numbers in my head. It finally hit me, it was Zeke…that’s very tough to deal with.Holmes: Did you regret giving him the, “Boomer” before you left?Hammons: No, we had that planned. Whether he backstabbed me or I backstabbed him we were going to give the Sooner Nation a shoutout. If Zeke hadn’t given me the “Sooner” back, I’d have probably killed him.Holmes: I like that that’s where the line is. You can vote me out of “Survivor,” but you’d better respond to my chant.Hammons: That’s right.

Holmes: Jessica and Sunday had a rift, you and Jessica had some business left over from the Paul vote. What goes into the process of deciding when the time is to send her packing? Hammons: My thought process was it would take away a two-way street that Dave had. Dave had Ken and Jess on one side and then he had my crew, which was me, Bret, and Sunday and really Zeke…him and Hannah. At that point, I thought if I can take Jess out, Dave will flounder around and he has to go with us. And he’s vulnerable. We can take him out when we need to. It’d also eliminate Adam and Jess…they were tight. And Jess and Ken were tight. Those three people would then be looking for someone to cling to, and hopefully that would be me.

Holmes: This is a really interesting season. Normally after the merge you have people targeting challenge competitors, but that hasn’t necessarily been the case. Hammons: Right.Holmes: Jay is a perfect example. He’s got an idol, he’s fit, he can do puzzles. How is he slipping through?Hammons: Jay is doing a good job of keeping his mouth shut. He’s not really making any rifts. Quite frankly, he’s been very brave not playing his idol up to this point. I don’t know how Jay has been sliding by, but he’s done a good job of staying under the radar. And plus, Dave didn’t want me in the game much longer. That vote would have meant that I had complete control of the game.

Holmes: It’s rare that I get to interview someone an episode after they’ve been eliminated. In a season like this where trust clusters are switching so frequently, could you have bet your entire game on one vote? Hammons: I wouldn’t have liked to pull a rock, but in that situation I had respect for everyone. Even Dave, Dave said, “I’m not turning.” I had respect for it, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t have just written someone else’s name down and just been done with it. But, I wasn’t up there. I might’ve stayed true to pulling a rock.

Holmes: Bret has claimed he’s a mortician, Jessica says she’s a photographer. Did you admit to being a lawyer? Hammons: No, I said I was a coach. I said I was a director of football ops for a small college.Holmes: Did anyone have any doubts about that?Hammons: I don’t think so. I’m big and it’s clear that I played football. Nobody has told me that they had doubts.

Holmes: If the vote had gone your way, what was your dream final three? Hammons: I would’ve taken Adam and Hannah or Sunday. They were my top three to come with me. I would’ve tried to have maneuvered into that situation. Bret would have been a tough one. I’m a loyal player. I probably would have had to do it, Bret’s too likable to face at the end. And, he played a pretty good game.Holmes: Bret came out to Zeke last episode. Was that something he was open about to you in the game?Hammons: I didn’t find out until after the game. It was interesting when Bret and I finally talked about it. He felt like he couldn’t tell me even though he was my closest ally out there. He thought an Oklahoma guy, a big athlete…he didn’t know that I was so liberal. It was kind of funny watching that play out.

Holmes: What is the general opinion about Hannah? At this point in the game is she playing a game that you’d respect? Hammons: Not me personally. For me, the conversations I had with her, she was all over the place. I don’t know if she knew up from down. She was playing a different game, as I watch it back, than I thought she was. At the time, I thought she was just doing what Zeke told her to do.

Holmes: You referred to Taylor as bright. I doubt we saw his best moments out there. Hammons: During the game I thought he was a crazy kid, but he’s really a very grounded person and probably the most sane person out there. He’s very bright, he speaks a few languages. He’s got a lot going for him. I really liked Taylor once I got over him stealing all the food.

Holmes: And if you and Jessica squared off in a court of law, how would that turn out? Hammons: I’d destroy her in a court of law. (Laughs)

Holmes: I’m a Penn Stater, is anyone allowed to participate in the “Boomer Sooner” chant? Hammons: Sure, Sooner Nation is across the world. You can find a Sooner anywhere.Holmes: Let’s test this…Boomer!Hammons: Sooner!